“I guess it could have been more clarified," Carson told Fox News to be broadcast Friday night. "I told it as I understood it."

The controversy is the latest in a series of questions Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who’s vaulted to the top of some presidential polls, has had to face. He’s had to explain a series of controversial statements, including whether he in fact engaged in violent behavior while a young teenager.

Carson wrote in his book, “Gifted Hands,” that at age 17 he was introduced to Gen. William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of American forces in Vietnam. Afterward, Carson said, he was offered a full scholarship.

According to Politico, Theresa Brinkerhoff,a spokeswoman for the academy, said West Point has no records that indicate Carson even started the process of applying.